Ghana Population Pyramid Explained

Nov 06, 2025 0

A Population pyramid (also called "Age-Sex Pyramid") is a graphical representation of the age and sex of a population. Population pyramids allow population structures to be presented in a way that makes the data easy to analyse and compare.

They can be used to compare changes in the structure of the population over time.

They allow governments and their agencies to project future population needs, such as health and education and put appropriate plans in place to meet these needs.

Population pyramids are split in half, showing males on the left and females on the right. The verticle axis is usually divided into 5-year intervals. The values along the x-axis can be raw numbers but are usually expressed as a percentage of the population.

Population pyramids vary in shape from country to country, depending on their level of economic development.

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The latest official current world population estimate, for August 2025, is estimated at 8.24 billion (World Odometer). It took over 1m years for the world’s population to reach 1 billion.

The 2025 population density in Ghana is 154 people per Km2 (399 people per mi2), calculated on a total land area of 227,540 Km2 (87,854 sq. miles).

Ghana Population Pyramid

Key Demographic Indicators for Ghana (2025)

Median Age: 21.3 years
Total Fertility Rate (TFR): 3.3 (Live Births per Woman)
Life Expectancy at Birth:
- Both Sexes: 65.9 years
- Females: 68.4 years
- Males: 63.5 years
Infant Mortality Rate: 29.5 (infant deaths per 1,000 live births)
Under 5 Mortality Rate: 39.4 (per 1,000 live births)
Urban Population: 58.6% (20,539,206 people)

Understanding Fertility Rate in Ghana

A Total Fertility Rate (TFR) of 2.1 represents the Replacement-Level Fertility: the average number of children per woman needed for each generation to exactly replace itself without needing international immigration. A value below 2.1 will cause the native population to decline.

Life Expectancy Trends

Life expectancy refers to the average number of years that a person is expected to live at the time of their birth. Life expectancy has increased over the years in many parts of the world since 1950. Differences, however, occur in the pattern and distribution of Life Expectancy.

Variations in Life expectancy may also occur in some cultures. E.g in Infant mortality rate in SA is higher among Blacks than infant mortality rate among the White population.

See also: Countries in the world ranked by Life Expectancy.

Urbanization in Ghana

Currently, 58.6% of the population of Ghana is urban (20,539,206 people in 2025). Localities of 5,000 persons and above have been classified as urban since 1960.

Urban areas in Ghana have customarily been supplied with more amenities than rural locations. Consequently, Kumasi, Accra, and many settlements within the southern economic belt attracted more people than the savanna regions of the north; only Tamale in the north has been an exception.

Ghana has a hugely rural population that is dependent on subsistence agriculture. Ghana has continued to be a nation of rural communities. Rural residency was estimated to be 67% of the population in 1992.

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The "Rural Manifesto," which assessed the causes of rural underdevelopment, was introduced in April 1984. Development strategies were evaluated, and some were implemented to make rural residency more attractive. The Bank of Ghana established more than 120 rural banks to support rural entrepreneurs, and the rural electrification program was intensified in the late 1980s.

Population Density

Population density increased steadily from 36 per square kilometer in 1970 to 52 per square kilometer in 1984. In 1990 63 persons per square kilometer was the estimate for Ghana's overall population density.

These averages did not reflect variations in population distribution. As was the case in the 1960 and 1970 figures, the greatest concentration of population in 1984 was to the south of the Kwahu Plateau.

The highest concentration of habitation continued to be within the Accra-Kumasi-Takoradi triangle, largely because of the economic productivity of the region. All of Ghana's mining centres, timber-producing deciduous forests, and cocoa-growing lands lie to the south of the Kwahu Plateau.

A large part of the Volta Basin is sparsely populated. The far north is heavily populated. The population density of the Upper East Region is well above the national average.

Largest Cities in Ghana

Here's a list of the largest cities in Ghana by population:

Kumasi - 2,544,530
Accra - 1,963,264
Tamale - 464,316
Takoradi - 389,114
Sekondi - 285,506
Cape Coast - 212,426
Atsiaman - 202,932
Ashaiman - 190,972
Obuase - 179,604
Tema - 155,782

See also Population of Ghana GDP (Gross Domesting Product) of Ghana Demographics of Africa World Demographics Demographics Population Sources

Dependency Ratio

There are three types of age dependency ratio: Youth, Elderly, and Total. All three ratios are commonly multiplied by 100.

Youth Dependency Ratio: population ages 0-15 divided by the population ages 16-64. Formula: ([Population ages 0-15] ÷ [Population ages 16-64]) × 100
Elderly dependency ratio: population ages 65-plus divided by the population ages 16-64. Formula: ([Population ages 65-plus] ÷ [Population ages 16-64]) × 100
Total dependency ratio: sum of the youth and old-age ratios. Formula: (([Population ages 0-15] + [Population ages 65-plus]) ÷ [Population ages 16-64]) × 100

NOTE: Dependency Ratio does not take into account labor force participation rates by age group. Some portion of the population counted as "working age" may actually be unemployed or not in the labor force whereas some portion of the "dependent" population may be employed and not necessarily economically dependent.

Demographic Transition Model

Over the past 300 years, population demographics have continued to evolve as a result of the relationship between birth and death rates within a country. It describes the way the total population of a country changes over time, taking into consideration birth and death rates.

The model suggests that mortality and fertility would decline as a result of social and economic development.

Natural Increase=Birth rate - death rate.

Natural decrease =BR

Fertility rate is the average number of children a woman can have in her lifetime.

Total fertility rate is the average number of births per 1000 women of childbearing age.

Crude birth rate: The total number of live births per 1000 population per year.

The level of female education i.e. if women are educated, the fertility rate will be low because they spend their time in school.

Place of residence: In urban areas, women tend to have fewer children because of the high costs of raising them. On the other hand, women in rural areas tend to have many children as a sign of virility or a source of cheap labor.

Emancipation of women. In societies where women have a high status, they are emancipated and can decide on the number of children they desire.

Religion plays a key role in determining the level of fertility.

Government policy: If the government decides on a pro-natalist ( will increase fertility) or anti-natalist policy ( decrease fertility), it will affect the level of fertility positively or negatively.

Crude death rate refers to the total number of deaths per 1000 people in a year.

Crude death rate: crude death rate indicates the number of deaths per 1,000 population in a given year. Subtracting the crude death rate from the crude birth rate provides the rate of natural increase, which is equal to the rate of population change in the absence of migration.

Life expectancy: the average number of years a person is expected to live.

Occupation: Some occupations are high-risk jobs. These may include mining, construction and those exposed to hazardous chemicals, hence they are more likely to die.

Social Class: A person’s social class can determine their life expectancy. People with a high social class are more likely to be richer and well-educated.

The structure of a population refers to the distribution of a population according to age and sex characteristics. These characteristics differ from country to country. There is a correlation between the level of economic development and the population pyramid of a country.

This refers to a population structure in which there are usually a large proportion of young people in a country within the age range of 0 and 14 years.

The dependent population refers to the group of people between the ages of 0-14 and 64+. It is the Youthful population + Ageing population.

The dependency ratio is the ratio of the dependent population to the working population.

Young dependents: a country with a large percentage of its dependents within the 0-14 years bracket. This is typical of LICs such as Ghana, Kenya, and Uganda.

Old-age dependents: old-age dependents refer to a country with a large number of dependents who are 64+. This is typical of HIC like Germany, Italy, USA.

Refugees are people who have been forced to leave their country or home to another country.

Internally displaced people (IDPs) are those leaving their homes due to conflicts or natural disasters.

Climate refugees or climate migrants are a subset of environmental migrants who were forced to flee “due to sudden or gradual alterations in the natural environment related to at least one of three impacts of climate change: sea-level rise, extreme weather events, and drought and water scarcity.

Development Displacees: These are people compelled to move as a result of a developmental project such as the building of a dam or highway etc.